Welcome Guest Bloggers Liv Honeywell and Domitri Xavier

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”
― Stephen R. Covey

In our book, The Journal, the central theme is trust. Despite knowing she is absolutely forbidden to do it, the slave looks in her Master’s private journal. She does it for the best of intentions but she still knows it is wrong. Her Master is, understandably, hurt, angry and disappointed in her. He feels that she has broken his trust, both by reading his journal and by not telling him that she has done it, and she is duly punished for what she has done.

In a vanilla relationship, you have to have trust, of course – that your partner won’t cheat on you; that you can rely on them to be there for you; that they won’t empty the bank account and disappear, etc. In an M/s relationship you need all of that plus a whole lot more!

Domitri was unequivocal about this: “If you can’t trust the sub, you have no business being in a relationship with her,” he said, “though of course it does cut both ways. The sub really needs to be able to trust their dominant as well, whether Top, Dom or Master, though I think particularly so in a Master/slave relationship.”

He went on to say that in an M/s relationship the partners are not equal. This brings a great responsibility to the Master. He must know his slave so well that he knows how to push her to her very limit but not push her beyond her capabilities. It is such an intimate knowledge that the Master has of the sub, and it must be established over many months and years.

He thinks that what it is so important to understand in an M/s relationship (and so few people outside the BDSM world do) is that the Master is in complete control of his slave 24/7. He can summon her at any time and she has no right to complain or suggest that they might do things another way. The slave must do nothing, other than obey.

As an example, if the slave is at a friend’s house for a chat or even having lunch in public she may receive a text saying, “Excuse yourself and go to the ladies room.” Instantly, but of course politely, she must follow that command. What Master wants or demands must take precedence over everyone and everything else. No ifs or buts, what the Master says is law. And a good slave will know this.

He also said that a good Master will need to recognise that impeccable behaviour in public is paramount and an instruction from him should be carried out with courtesy to her friends or to the general public. She is his slave. At all times she is representing him and any failure in good manners would inevitably reflect on him… He thinks that the letters ‘WWMW’ should practically be stencilled on the inside of the sub’s eyelids, as constantly on her mind should be ‘What Would Master Want?’

As a Master, you have to trust that even when your slave is out of sight she will do what you have told her to do, that rules set up in your relationship are adhered to even when you can’t see her to check. You must be able trust that she will behave appropriately and obey you when you aren’t present just as much as she would if you were standing over her.

Trust isn’t only for the Master, of course. The sub has to trust her Master to know her completely and accept her fully. She has to trust that, having that level of knowledge of her, whatever he asks of her will be within the bounds of reason and good sense; and that she can trust him to push but not break her limits.

So do you think you could cope with being in a 24/7 Master/slave relationship? Could you handle that much responsibility as a Master? Could you give yourself so completely as a slave?

It’s a question I’ve asked myself often, particularly with all the writing we’ve done for The Journal and with starting Shreds, the next in the series recently. I’ve never been in an M/s relationship and it has been, and still is, a challenge to write from the slave’s point of view. I’ve had to really explore how I would react to the situations in both stories – how I would feel, what I would think. There’s no doubt at all that I am intrigued by and drawn to this lifestyle though. I suspect Domitri knew that before I did.

One thing I don’t have to question is the level of trust needed to have a relationship like that. Both Domitri and I agree – trust must be absolute in an M/s relationship for it to work.

“A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud. I am arrived at last in the presence of a man so real…, that I may drop even those undermost garments of dissimulation, courtesy, and second thought, which men never put off, and may deal with him with the simplicity and wholeness with which one chemical atom meets another.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series

How much more so for a sub and her Master?

“Come to my study at eight o’clock sharp. Dress for dinner. Wear high heels and put on that dress – you know what I expect of you.”

When the order comes Livia is torn between anticipation and dread.

Does he know? How could he possibly know what she has done? And how can she find the words and the courage to tell him?

As eight o’clock edges ever nearer, Livia waits outside the study door, trembling; uncertain of what she will find when she comes face to face with her Master.

If he knows… If he does, there will be consequences. There is no doubt about that.

The words I had been half hoping for, half dreading. Would he be able to tell what I was thinking? I opened my eyes and looked up at him, letting him see how vulnerable I was before him and how much I wanted to please him. The expression on his face almost stopped my breath. There was so much love in his eyes, such emotion, and I swallowed against the lump in my throat and blinked back tears of joy mixed sickeningly with guilt. How very much I loved this man, and what I had done to him…

He swept me into his arms and kissed me hard, his hands roaming my body again. Our tongues tangled; his determinedly invading my mouth, mine softly yielding to his touch. I leaned against him, wishing that I could hold him too. I pressed my body against his, wanting to show him how much he meant to me, hoping that would be enough.

He broke the kiss and moved slightly, his hand slipping between our bodies to tease me between my legs again. I was soaking wet. How could I be otherwise? He did not even need to touch me to provoke this reaction. When we were together, his presence was enough and, when apart, just the thought of him was all I needed. My body was not mine any more. It responded to him, ached for him, whether I would wish it or not. I could deny him nothing.

He lifted his hand to my mouth; his fingers wet, and gently painted my lips with my own juices. I tasted my arousal on my tongue but would have no more dared to wipe it away, than I would think to say ‘no’ to him. I stood with my mouth open, my juices trickling down my chin, awaiting his pleasure.

He pressed his fingers further into my mouth, probing deeply and I tried to relax, to let him penetrate where he would, but I choked as his finger reached the back of my mouth. “No,” he yelled and I shrank back, mortified that I had not been able to give him what he required of me. I hurried to open my mouth again, concentrating hard on relaxing my throat, and this time I was fully open to him.

He removed his hand from my mouth and lifted my dress, stroking and exploring my breasts. I licked his fingers when asked and he circled my nipples so lightly and tenderly that it was almost difficult to believe that he could ever hurt me.

His touch on my breasts roughened and he gripped them tightly, crushing my nipples. I closed my eyes, torn once again between pain and pleasure; so aroused it was close to unbearable. My knees weakened and I leaned against him, my head resting against his shoulder. I could feel the hard length of his cock pressing against my hip and I moved just a little against it, hoping, despite what I’d done, that this time he would use my body; that I would feel him deep inside me.

Bios:

Liv Honeywell:

When not writing about delicious, hot male dominants and the female subs who love them, I’m usually doing something craft-like, reading, baking, eating the results of said baking, and attempting to satisfy the demands of His High and Mighty Dominance (the cat!). My first story, Imagine, was published with Silver Moon Books last year and Coming, Ready or Not! is my first solo book. The Journal was co-written with Domitri Xavier.

Domitri Xavier comes from a rich heritage, including Russia, France and Yorkshire. He is the quintessential English gentleman and lives alone in his cavernous mansion, Upton Abbey.

Domitri is not only a writer, composer, pianist, raconteur, wit and poet, he also enjoys a number of hobbies; he breeds Basset Hounds, plays chess (although he has yet to record a victory) and he is a renowned collector of used tea bags – Earl Grey, naturally.

He fills his remaining time writing erotic fiction, much of it based on his own lifestyle at the Abbey.